With the recent opening of Consign Design, treasure hunters, art aficionados and collectors of antiques have yet another reason to visit Charlevoix.

Owned and operated by Mary Adams and husband Chuck, Consign Design, located at 211 Bridge St. Suite B, offers both buyers and sellers a place to conduct their business be it Baroque or Vetruvian, expensive or cheap.

“Our goal was find something every person can afford. We have some nice things with better quality t

than Walmart, but we can compete with Walmart prices because our stock is used,” Mary Adams said.

“We have some original artwork, some antiques and used furniture that’s in good condition. Right now we have a really beautiful end table/cabinet priced at $28, we have linens priced as low as $1, we have some lamps priced as low as $14 and then we have expensive things like $700 lamps priced at $350.”

Adams said her stock changes on a daily basis.

Advertisement

“We have stuff going out and stuff coming in all the time. I think it’s really fun to get to see all the different things people collected themselves that they are now extinguishing collections or tired of it or trading up,” she said. “It’s like bits and pieces of people’s lives—it’s always interesting.”

While Consign Design may be a buyer’s paradise, Adams urges sellers to stop in for a look.

“We are looking for new consignors and we take a variety of items (non electronic household items) like rugs, dishes, lamps and any kind of accessories, pictures, crystal, china, linens, just a lot of stuff,” she said. “If they (people looking to sell on consignment) have small items, they can bring them in, of course they have to be in good condition and clean, or we have someone who will pick up larger items after hours.”

There is a small charge for picking up larger items depending on how long it takes.

“We determine what the retail value is, if we can, and discount 60% off the original price for the first month,” Adams said. “Then, each month for three months after that, the price goes down 10 percent.

You can get some good deals.”

The large discounts apply to items which are not antiques, but added, “We have the antiques appraised and sold at a reasonable price.”

Adams has been a collector for years, but this is her first venture in the retail sale of them.

“We used to sell and buy antiques on consignment at various places and ended up having a back

stock of antiques,” she said. “I was on the committee for Cool Cities and everyone said we need affordable furniture and home accessories and affordable art and another antique shop downtown.”

She added, “Since I’m one of the biggest critics of empty stores downtown, I decided to do it. I see us somewhere between the Rainbow Shoppe and retail.”

Some of her current stock includes European antiques, a kitchen table for less than $25, mission pieces, arts and crafts pieces and Rattan furniture from the 1940s by Heywood-Wakefield.

“That Rattan is like the coolest thing we have right now, and it’s in perfect original condition. We have side chairs, end tables a game table and a sofa,” she said. “It can be broken down and sold individually. There is also a rocker that is very cool.”

Adams added, “I hope that (Consign Design) will be an asset to the community. We intend to be open yearround. The best thing about it is, when someone comes in and doesn’t have a large budget, there is something they can afford.”

Adams and her husband have owned a cottage in Charlevoix since 1990 and lived here since 1995.